OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is co-sponsoring a free public workshop on pheasant management on March 22 in Moses Lake.

Mick Cope, WDFW small game program manager, said the department wants to use the meeting to identify key pheasant management strategies with the greatest chance of successfully increasing naturally occurring pheasant populations throughout the state.

Presenters include pheasant-management experts from Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota. There will also be a presentation by the Washington, D.C.- based Wildlife Management Institute that will include a discussion of how the federal farm bill integrates with pheasant management.

The day-long workshop at the Moses Lake Convention Center is co-sponsored by State Sen. Bob Oke (R-Port Orchard), Pheasants Forever and the Big Bend Economic Development Council.

"I think every pheasant hunter knows our bird population is not doing well," said Oke, who is chair of the Senate Parks, Fish and Wildlife Committee. "If we are to effectively manage this resource, we need to get a handle on what strategies will work for us."

The workshop is set for 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and includes a moderated question and answer session in the afternoon. The full agenda, plus detailed information about the presenters available on WDFW's website, through WDFW regional offices or by contacting the WDFW Wildlife Program, at (360) 902-2515, and on Sen. Oke's website (http://www.src.wa.gov/Members/oke.htm).

Collect information that will help identify at least five key pheasant management strategies that will give the greatest chance of successfully increasing naturally occurring pheasant populations in Washington

Saturday, March 22: General Public Meeting

9:00

Pheasant Habitat Requirements

9:30

Pheasant Management on a Landscape Basis

10:00

Integrating Pheasant Management and Farming

Non-irrigated

Irrigated

Harvest and Planting Techniques

10:45

Break

10:55

South Dakota Pheasants: "As good as it gets"

11:30

Lunch

12:15

(Lunchtime Presentation from the Direct Seed Association)

12:45

Farm Bill and Pheasants in Iowa

1:15

Federal Farm Bill: How does it integrate with pheasant management in Washington? (NRCS Alan Fulk)

2:00

Break

2:15

Moderated Question and Answer session.

3:30

Status of pheasants in WA and where do we go from here (Identifying the Keys to Pheasant Management in Washington).

Terry Riley received two Masters of Science degrees, one from New Mexico State University and one from The Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. He has been a professional biologist for over 20 years and has been working for the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) in Washington, D.C. since 1994 where he is currently the Director of Conservation. His primary duties at WMI include coordinating the delivery of technical and scientific wildlife related information to the U.S. Congress, the Administration, the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service among others. In addition, Terry was a research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 6 years where he was the primary investigator on a 5-year study of ring-necked pheasant ecology. Terry has published 22 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the Journal of Wildlife Management, The Wildlife Society Bulletin, and the Prairie Naturalist and has given over 20 presentations at scientific meetings throughout the United States, many addressing issues related to pheasant biology and management.

Randy Rodgers is a wildlife biologist based in Hays, Kansas who has worked in western Kansas for 24 years. A native of Kansas, he received his B.S. in wildlife biology from Kansas State University in 1975. After completing his M.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1979, he returned to Kansas for a job with the Kansas Fish and Game, now the Department of Wildlife and Parks. Randy has been an upland game bird specialist for his entire career. His main emphasis has been on finding and promoting economically and socially sound farm practices that incorporate good soil, water and wildlife conservation and has several publications relating to pheasant biology and management.

Tony graduated from South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences in 1985 and received a Master of Science Degree from Texas Tech University in 1987. His graduate research focused on the effects of brush-control burns on bobwhite and scaled quail populations in west Texas. After completing his graduate work, Tony returned to South Dakota to take a job as a Conservation Officer with SD Department of Game Fish and Parks. A year later he accepted a promotion to become a Wildlife Biologist in the upland game section of SDGFP and in 1998, Tony assumed leadership of the statewide upland game management and research program. Since becoming a wildlife biologist with SDGFP, Tony has coordinated the implementation of habitat programs designed primarily to enhance pheasant abundance on private lands. Tony also conducts pheasant research for SDGFP, most recently completing a 5-year study of pheasant survival and habitat selection during the breeding season. During a previous project, he evaluated the effectiveness of releasing pen-reared hen pheasants in the spring. Additionally, Tony has designed and coordinated 6 graduate research projects in cooperation with South Dakota State University, 4 of which evaluated pheasant habitats. He has authored 8 scientific publications and research reports and co-authored an additional 6 publications. Finally, Tony has the luxury of carrying the title of State Pheasant Biologist in a state where pheasant harvests are the highest of any state or province in North America.

Todd Bogenschutz has been an upland wildlife research biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources since 1995. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1989, and a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology in1992 from South Dakota State University. His thesis investigated the “Influence of Winter Food Plots on the Body Condition of Ring-necked Pheasant Hens.” In addition, Todd has experience working as a GIS Specialist and a small game research biologist in Minnesota and Indiana. Todd’s research in Iowa has focused on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill programs and their impacts on upland wildlife populations. The Iowa DNR has also worked closely with Iowa State University (ISU) to develop a spatially explicit, individually based habitat model to determine the impact of various USDA programs, primarily the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), on pheasant populations. The Iowa DNR and ISU have also conducted some cooperative research investigation predator populations on public wildlife areas.